Stay Together
by laveniis
Summary: A locket, a wish and a cat. Ivan has a gift for a boy named Yao, but doesn't really know what he's in for.


**this is heavily based off that one arc in clannad after story u know what im talkin bout if youve seen it hahaha anyway there are probably a bunch of mistakes sorry and enjoy**

* * *

Ivan stared at the school gates, swaying on his feet. He was not a student here, nor was he a student anywhere, really. In fact, he actually had nowhere he was supposed to be, or anyone he was supposed to be with. Well, there was one person he was supposed to be with, but he was unsure why he was supposed to meet them. He held a locket in his hands, carefully and protectively.

For some reason, he was so sure that this locket was important. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was being told that the locket would grant a single wish. If he was any other person, he would simply use that wish up on himself. But it was meant for some special, and he knew that too, in the back of his mind. Ivan did not know where he knew it from though, so it felt quite strange to try and think about.

The school bell finally rang and he got nervous. What if they weren't here today? Or perhaps they would be staying late after school? Not like it mattered anyway, it's not like he had anywhere to be or something. He examined everyone who walked by intently, knowing that he would just know when he saw the right person. And then he saw this one person leave the main building, his face beautiful and his dark hair shone in the sunlight that lit up the schoolyard in which the students traversed through to the exit. Now was the time to approach! Awkwardly, he scurried towards the smaller boy, startling him when he stopped in front of him.

"Um, can I help you?" the boy asked, looking at him in confusion. Ivan smiled down at him.

"Hello, Yao!" he hummed cheerfully, causing Yao to take a step back, almost frightened.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, almost as if he were trying to appear bigger and stronger than Ivan. How cute, Ivan thought to himself, just finding himself smiling more.

"We met once before!" Ivan did not really understand what he was telling Yao, as he did not remember meeting him before, but for some reason now he did. Yao tilted his head, obviously trying to remember meeting him at some point.

"You don't really look familiar to me…?" he replied, looking around nervously. Ivan shrugged, still trying to figure out where these sudden memories had emerged from. Oh well, this was all starting to make sense, he supposed.

"It was a long time ago, I was in the hospital, but I'm all better now!" he cooed, swaying on his feet childishly. Yao looked at him seriously, trying to remember. Suddenly, his face lit up.

"Oh, you were that guy I was talking to while visiting my brother, right?" he asked, feeling confident with his assumption. Ivan nodded his head, pleased that Yao had remembered. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name."

"My name is Ivan. That day you spoke to me, wow… you just made me feel so much better," he hummed. "Your happiness cheered me right up and gave me hope! I'm absolutely certain you're the reason I began to recover!" Yao nodded his head weakly, still unsure of what was happening, but seemed to be trying to believe the tale.

"So, is there are a reason you came looking for me?" Yao asked, feeling a bit more relaxed now, as he actually knew who this tall boy was. Ivan paused, thinking for a moment, but then nodded his head, remembering.

"This is for you, a thank you present!" Ivan exclaimed, pulling out the locket and offering it to Yao. Yao looked hesitant to take it, but accepted it regardless. "Oh yeah, and there's something special about this locket, do you wanna know what it is?" he asked, leaning in closer to Yao. Yao nodded his head slowly, raising his eyebrows curiously. "It has the power to grant one wish! Anything you could possibly want!" he cooed, stepping back a little.

"Oh sure," Yao just went along with it, amused by the obvious childish ploy. "Thank you, Ivan. The present wasn't really necessary, but thank you." he said, nodding his head a little. Ivan grinned, putting his hands on his hips.

There was a bit more idle chatter between the two, and Yao decided he actually liked this Ivan boy, even though he was a little odd and he had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Yao asked Ivan to walk him home, and Ivan agreed, since he actually had nowhere he had to be. Ivan began to learn a lot about this Yao boy, and he found out he was even better than he could have possibly imagined originally. He was sad when they reached Yao's house.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Yao asked, putting his hands on his hips. Ivan was confused temporarily, but nodded his head.

"Sure, I'll meet you after school."

Yao went inside and Ivan waved him goodbye. He then wandered the neighbourhood for a bit, and curled up on a bench somewhere to sleep. Right now, he really wished he had his own home and bed to sleep and stay warm in. Oh well.

The next day, Ivan met Yao after school and Yao bought him ice cream because he said he had no money to buy anything. This actually began to happen a lot, a repeated process of them meeting after school and walking around town. Ivan felt himself getting quite attached to this lovely Yao, with his golden eyes and hair like silk to touch. One night was different because Yao had kissed his cheek when they parted ways at Yao's house, and Ivan knew things were different now.

On the weekend Yao took Ivan on a date. Ivan quite liked it, so he and Yao ended up going on many dates over a month or two. One day, Yao told Ivan about how his friend had invited him to a party, and asked if he wanted to go. Ivan had never been to a party so he was nervous, but he said he would go, since Yao would be there with him, and he really likely Yao a lot.

It was held on a beach and the music was very loud, so Yao took Ivan to a quieter part of the beach so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

"Oh yeah," Yao said all of a sudden as if he had remembered something important. Ivan looked up from where he was sitting in the sand trying to draw a picture of flowers with a stick.

"What is it?" he asked, standing up and dropping the stick next to his drawing. Yao reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out the locket that Ivan had forgotten all about due to being with Yao for so long. Ivan tilted his head in confusion, staring at it.

"I finally decided what I wanted to wish for, Ivan. Do you wanna hear it?" Yao asked, holding the cute locket close to his chest. Ivan nodded his head awkwardly, smiling and awaiting to hear Yao's wish. For some reason, in his sub-consciousness, he felt somewhat sad. He brushed the feeling away though, continuing to smile.

"What is it? Is it a good wish?" he asked.

"I love you Ivan," Yao began, smiling and closing his eyes, stepping closer to Ivan.

"I love you too," he cooed, putting his hands on Yao's small shoulders.

"My wish is for us to always be together Ivan, no matter what happens."

Suddenly, Ivan felt numb and tears pricked at his eyes. What was happening? His head was spinning. He accidentally fell down, and he heard Yao cry out softly for him. He felt Yao's hand on his arm, but all he could see was…himself. Oddly though, he was looking up from a spot that appeared to be his lap. He felt awfully small. He felt himself pat his own head, and he was so confused right now. What on earth was happening to him?

_"Thank him for me, Ivan. Please you have to!"_

In the real world, Ivan was crying and he couldn't feel his body. In his mind, he meowed up at himself, who wasn't actually himself. It was a boy named Nikolai, his owner. That was not him and he was the cat in his lap. Ivan was Nikolai's cat, and Nikolai had been very sick. Nikolai had passed away and Ivan had become a wish carrying courier, with a message for Yao, the boy that made Nikolai smile one more time. But Ivan was just a cat who had become a boy that had fallen in love with Yao.

And now, the courier's job had been complete. Suddenly the memory faded and Ivan came back to his senses.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Yao exclaimed, hugging Ivan. "I'll go get you some water," he puffed, patting his head. Ivan nodded weakly and he watched Yao walk away. He lay down in the sand, staring up at the night sky. He was glad he had met Yao for himself; he was a very nice boy. He was such a nice boy and Ivan loved him so much, more than a cat could ever love anything.

Yao came back and in the sand sat a big, fluffy cat. He looked around, water bottle hanging loosely in his hand.

"Ivan?" he asked softly, creasing his brow. The cat mewed up at Yao and wandered over, rubbing up against his leg. Yao stroked the cat, placing the bottle on the ground. To Yao, it was as if Ivan had just vanished into thin air. That was not the case of course.

Ivan was the cat at his legs, one that would never vanish because Yao had wished for them to stay together. Heartbroken and confused, Yao left the party and was followed by the strange cat.

Yao found it odd that the cat happened to really like the vase of sunflowers that sat beside his bed, and liked to sit on his stomach when it was cold and nuzzle him when he cried.

Yao also noted he liked to meow up at him, a lot.

When Ivan mewed up at him, he was always saying:

"I love you."


End file.
